


A Field Trip to Remember

by nst4612



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers Family, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 00:28:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17498180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nst4612/pseuds/nst4612
Summary: Peter’s class is going on a field trip to the Catskill mountains, and they need chaperones. Peter calls the Avngers. *In a universe where everything is just fine after infinity war and everybody is friends again and nobody gets dusted* Based on this prompt: https://pin.it/xcedhkhgtxcl2n





	1. Chapter 1

Peter was sitting in science class only half paying attention when he suddenly perked up at the sound of the words “field trip” leaving his teacher’s mouth. They would be taking a camping trip to the Catskill mountains to study rock sediment. There was only one catch: they needed chaperones to be able to go on the trip. Peter knew that May would not be up for a camping trip to look at rocks. He figured that some other kid would volunteer their parent, but days passed and nobody did. 

It was beginning to look like the trip might not happen after all. 

“Nope” Peter thought. He would go on this field trip. Rocks were important to every kid’s science experience, and the fact that he would get to spend a little more time with MJ… Well, that didn’t hurt either. 

He could ask May, but she already did so much for him. Would it be fair to ask for this too?

He couldn’t ask Mr. Stark. He didn’t want to turn this trip into a Tony Stark fan club retreat. And as if that wouldn’t be embarrassing enough, he couldn’t bear to think of the high tech tent/fully functional Starbucks and discotheque club that would surely accompany him.

Happy was out too. Sure, it was his job to look out for Peter, but apparently that didn’t extend to Happy killing Peter, and Peter would like to come home in one piece. 

He knew at least half the Avengers would be perfectly happy to accompany him, but most of them didn’t exactly keep a low profile, and Peter was still trying to fly under the radar.

Captain America was a household name, and thanks to the Smithsonian, so was Steve Rogers. Everybody knew of Black Widow, especially her distinctive red hair though only high level officials knew her name. Clint had a family so he wouldn’t go regardless of whether or not he was clearly the perfect choice, at least in Peter’s mind. Thor was... well, Thor, and Dr. Banner was a well respected scientist and a possible angry green rage monster depending on the day. That probably wasn’t a good idea around Flash. Vision was literally made of metal. Wanda still wasn’t too fond of the outside world. Bucky hated him. T’challa was literal royalty, and thus a little preoccupied with running a country and all. He could think of a million reasons why he shouldn't do what he was about to do, but he was desperate. He guessed he could at least put a call in to the Avengers Complex, and see what came of it.

…

“Hey… uh … Mr. Stark. Oh! And the rest of the Avengers!” Peter rambled into the phone. “You know, Black Widow and Thor, and Hulk, and Vision, and Hawkeye, and you know what, I’m going to get on with the message now. So you see, I’ve sorta have a field trip next weekend to the Catskills. It’s a camping trip, but uh… to go, we need chaperones, and well, I was wondering if one of you could please go because we really need chaperones, like really bad. Did I already say that? Sorry, but please. Will one of y’all come?”

Peter clicked end on the call. He had already recorded and erased six other messages, and figured if he didn’t send this one he never would. 

He closed out of his phone, and watched Star Wars for the millionth time, nervously awaiting a reply, and equally nervous of the outcome.

…

“So,” May said to Peter over a dinner of spaghetti she had made . “I hear you have a field trip coming up.”

“Yep,” Peter replied somewhat tentatively.

“And you need chaperones,” supplied May.

“Uh huh,” he mumbled. 

“Have you got anyone in mind?” she asked. 

“I called the Avengers earlier today,” Peter said. “I was hoping one of them would go.”

“Oh, good!” May exclaimed as she let out a sigh of relief. “I’d do anything for you, kid, but camping is not my idea of a good time. I would have just dragged you down anyway. But are you sure taking one of the Avengers is the best idea?” she asked cautiously. 

“I had to, May. I didn’t have anybody else to take me, and besides they’ve basically become family, but like a weird, emotionally detached, deadly family.” he argued.

“That’s exactly my point, Peter. They’re dangerous and won’t it kind of give away your secret identity. Also do you really want to spend all weekend watching all yout friends fawn over a superhero?” she asked.

“Do you think I haven’t though of that? Aunt May, we need chaperones, and if one of the Avengers volunteers, well... then we should be thankful right? We can’t have a repeat of D.C.”

“Ok,” May said quietly. “I love you Peter, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.” 

“I love you too” he said.


	2. Chapter 2

“-already say that? Sorry, but please. Will one of y’all come?” The message finished playing, and Steve looked up at Nat from the couch with puppy eyes.

“Please, Nat,” he whined.

“No,” she said.

“But the kid needs us Nat and think about how much fun camping is.” Steve pleaded.

“No, he needs you. He only asked for one chaperone.” Nat reasoned.

“Come on, Nat,” he said. “They need chaperones and I don’t think they care how many. Did you hear how desperate he sounded? Don’t you want to make a kid’s dreams come true? Plus they’re teenagers. They need all the supervision they can get, and it’ll be more fun with you.” Boy, he was laying it on thick now.

“No. I don’t want to spend my weekend trapped in the woods with a bunch of freckle faced teenagers. And-“

Steve cut her off. “You’re never trapped anywhere you don’t want to be.”

As I was saying,” she declared with a slight sigh. “Are you even sure you should be doing that” she asked. 

“What do you mean?” asked Steve. As always he hadn’t thought this through all the way.

“You being Captain America and all. Face it, Rogers. Your identity isn’t exactly a secret. You can barely go out in public without being mauled by a crazed fan. You always have to wear a disguise.” Natasha explained.

“Yeah, but this is just a few of Peter’s friends from school. It’s not like it’s a crowded mall ready to stampede. It’ll be fine,” he said. “So, will you come?”

“FIne, but only so I can say ‘I told you so’ when this implodes on the spot.” she said.

“I’ll call the kid!” Steve crowed with barely disguised glee.

…

“Hey, Peter” Steve spoke into the phone. “I just wanted to call you to tell you that Nat and I will be coming on the field trip with you. Isn’t that great?”

“Oh no” Peter thought. This was the opposite of great. The least conspicuous Avenger besides Mr. Stark himself. Captain Rogers might as well show up wearing the Stars and Stripes. And the Avenger most likely to kill somebody. He was sure Natasha would not hesitate to slit Flash’s throat at the first lewd comment out of his mouth. This was just peachy.

“Great,” he said weakly into the phone hoping Captain Rogers couldn’t see through the thinly veiled terror in his voice. 

“Um… well… The bus leaves from school on Saturday at 7 am and we get back on Monday at 8 pm. I’ll see you there, I guess,” he said reluctantly giving Captain Rogers the details of the trip.

“Hey! May!” Peter called. “I got some chaperones for the trip.”

“That’s great, honey!” she yelled back.

…

“Hey, Steve!” Natasha called from the other room. “Do you think I’ll need to bring a machete?” 

“No! Natasha, this is a school field trip.” Steve said, walking to her room to supervise her packing efforts. 

“Well you never know, Steve” she replied as she heard him enter. “Maybe just one. Are you bringing your shield?”

“Why would I bring my shield?” he asked appalled at the thought of taking his shield on a school field trip where he would be surrounded by kids, and besides this trip was supposed to be leisurely and educational.

“Come on, Steve,” she said slipping a few ninja stars into her bag before Steve stopped her. “It’d be stupid not to in our line of work.” 

“I think your armed enough for the both of us, Nat” Steve said, before slipping out of the room to get back to his own packing.

…

“May!” Peter yelled.

“What do you need, kid?” she said entering the room.

“What do you take camping?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Camping things like tents and marshmallows, and obviously clothes. Oh! And make sure they’re warm ones. It’s supposed to be cold. And not your suit,” she said as she noticed him slipping a familiar red and blue suit into his bag. “Now, why do you think you’ll need that? Is this even really a field trip? Are you going to Germany again? Did Mr. Stark set this up. You know I don’t trust him. He seems sleazy.”

“No, May. It’s just a field trip, and you’re right. I won’t need my suit,” he said putting it back on the shelf and closing the closet door.

… 

Peter went to sleep that night relishing in the comfort of his bed, knowing that tomorrow he would be sleeping on a cold, hard bed of packed earth. He drifted off imagining a canopy of stars above his head.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter woke up early the next morning. He was excited to go camping with his friends despite the fact that two superheroes would be accompanying him. He left his room only to see May making blueberry pancakes in the kitchen. 

“Hey sleepyhead” she called out playfully. “Grab some whipped cream and syrup for the pancakes.” 

“Yep,” he said, still foggy from sleep. 

“So, camping! Are you excited?” May asked. 

“Yeah! It’s gonna be so much fun! You know, I’ve never been camping before.”

“Yeah, kid,” May said with faint sorrow in her eyes. “Sorry about that.” 

“No it’s cool, May because now I get to try new things, and I’ll be surrounded by my friends, and I wasn’t forced into it like most kids,” Peter said hurriedly. 

“Thanks, kid,” said May. 

They gathered up their dishes and packed Peter’s stuff into the car. The drive to school was quiet with only music to break the silence. 

At school they hugged a quick goodbye. Peter prepared to pull away before May pulled him in closer.

“Stay safe and come home to me. Okay?” she whispered into his ear. 

“I will, Aunt May,” he said back quietly.

“I love you, kid,” she said before finally pulling away.

“I love you too,” he called back while boarding the bus.

…

Nat woke to the sound of birds chirping and felt the immediate urge to punch somebody. She stalked her way into the kitchen for grasping for a hot cup of coffee when she saw Steve whistling and fixing an omelette, already dressed in his hoodie, baseball cap, and sunglasses perched on his head that he always wore when he went out in public. 

“Good morning, Nat,” he practically sang. 

“It’s 5 in the morning and he’s singing,” Nat thought angrily, and if looks could kill, then under Natasha’s glare, Steve would have been nothing but a grease spot on the floor. 

“Would you like an omelette?” Steve asked, still overly cheerful. 

“No,” Natasha said shortly as she trudged over to the pantry, and grabbed a Chocolate Pop-Tart. 

‘Well, you don’t seem very excited to be going on this trip.” Steve said as he continued to cook. 

“That’s because I’m not excited,” she said rather pointedly. “I’m being forced to go on this stupid trip by you just because you’re from Brooklyn, and you feel for the kid from Queens. So, no. I’m not excited.”

“There’s no need to be so grumpy,” Steve reprimanded her gently. 

“Look,” Natasha said as she finished her Pop-Tart. “I’m gonna go pack up my stuff in the car.”

“I’ll come with you,” Steve said placing his dishes in this sink. He followed her all the way to her room. She brushed past him on the way to her car. He stopped quickly into his room to grab his backpack before racing to catch up with her. 

“I just can’t understand why you’re not more excited,” said Steve in an exasperated tone.

‘Well… Let’s see here…” Natasha said pretending to think. “Well… I hate teenagers. I don’t like camping. I barely know the Spider-Kid anyways, and besides you were the one that forced me to do this, and I hate doing stuff just because you say to.”

“Nat, just please get in the car.” Steve sighed. “The kid needs us.”

“Ughhhhhh” Nat groaned, sliding into the car. “I hope you know I’m not going to enjoy a second of this.” 

“Well, I, on the other hand, will enjoy every minute spent with the children. Just think out of it, out. In the woods, camping, sleeping under the stars. We can hang out with the kids. We can make s’mores-,”

I will make s’mores. I will not talk to children,” Natasha said, cutting Steve off before he could get any further into this tangent of his. 

Their drive was long and they just barely it to the school at 7. Nat wasn’t allowed to drive.

“Ah,” a teacher said clicking her tongue and walking over to the pair. “You must be our two chaperones. That would be Nikki Fury and Captain Rogers. Correct?” she asked. 

“Yes,” Natasha replied smoothly before Steve could correct her.

“Is there any relation to Steve Rogers?” asked the teacher with a chuckle, before finally looking up from her sheet. She let out a gasp. “You… You’re… You’re… Captain America?” she sputtered. “Peter!” she called. A familiar brown haired kid came dashing off the bus. “Would you please explain how you managed to get the Captain America to chaperone our class trip?”

“Well… uh… you know… the Stark internship” Peter explained. 

“Yeah,” Steve supplied. “I met him when he was wandering around the office one day looking for the supply closet.” This affirmation seemed to please the teacher and she walked away and onto the bus. 

“Didn’t know you had it in you, Rogers,” Natasha commented before climbing onto the bus. Steve walked after her and took the seat next to her on the bus

“So, Nikki Fury, huh?” Steve queried.

“Well, I couldn’t very well give them my real name.” Nat reasoned, and settled in for a long bus ride.


	4. Chapter 4

Nat was fast asleep before the bus pulled out of the parking lot. She had a habit of sleeping in the oddest of places and positions like now: curled up into a tight ball on the hard bus seat surrounded by screaming, overly enthusiastic teenagers. Steve wondered how she did it.

He looked back and saw Peter sitting next to an overweight kid with black hair. Both of them were talking to a girl across the aisle with messy dark hair and a book resting on her lap that was long forgotten at this point.

Steve remembered doing he same things with Bucky when they were young, which was a longer time ago than it seemed. They laughed, and smiled, and told jokes almost as if they were in a world of their own. Suddenly, he flashed back to a different time.

…

Brooklyn, 1940s

Steve was sitting at the back of the bus, seats away from any of the other children, doodling in his sketchbook. Suddenly, somebody else boarded the bus and a smile lit the newcomer, Bucky’s, face.

“Stevie,” he called. “Come sit with me, man,” motioning to a seat towards the front of the bus.

Steve blushed and slowly shook his head indicating that he would like to stay where he was and resumed sketching. Bucky nodded as if he understood and started to make his way to the back of the bus, towards Steve. Wilson Smythe, a snide boy at their school, stood up and stopped Bucky in the aisle.

“Hey, Barnes. Why do you want to sit with that cripple in the back? Stay up here with us,” he said in an attempt to persuade Bucky.

Bucky tried to decline, but Wilson put a hand on his shoulder menacingly and once again stopped Bucky in his tracks. At this point, Bucky was becoming increasingly angry, and pushed past Wilson forcefully. He made his way to Steve and slid onto the seat next to him.

“Hey, did you listen to the game on the radio last night?” he asked, before Steve could ask about what happened. That was just Bucky’s style. He would always change the subject before discussing any negativity in his life.

”Yeah! The Yankees won. The pitcher was stellar last night.” Steve said with great excitement. They spent the rest of the bus ride laughing and talking, not even noticing the malicious stares from the kids a few rows ahead of them.

…

Suddenly, Steve was shaken from the memory by Nat waking up up beside him.

“Steve. Steve!” she said shaking him gently. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

“About how I used to be just like them.” he said indicating the children at the back of the bus.

“That must have been something, Grandpa Capsicle,” Nat said in a joking tone that quickly turned serious and quiet. “I never had anything like that, but I don’t know… I don’t think I ever truly missed it. As a child, I thought that it would be better if I were normal, but somehow it all turned out okay.”

“Nat, I’m sorry,” Steve said softly.

“Don’t be,” Nat said her voice turning vaguely cold. “I ended up here. Sometimes this life isn’t happy, but it led me to you, and Clint, Bruce, Tony, Wanda, Thor, Coulson, even Nick. I have a family thanks to my past. So, no Steve. You don’t need to be sorry for me.”

“Ok Nat,” Steve said, noting that Nat had already curled back up into a ball and was quickly on her way to sleep.

…

Peter slid into a seat next to Ned on the bus. He tapped him on the shoulder, but Ned shushed him quickly.

 

“I’m halfway through a Star Wars fan theory video,” he said with a sort of reverence in his voice.

“Oh! Cool,” Peter said as he looked over at the screen of Ned’s phone. “What’s it about?”

“This guy thinks that Han Solo was actually Darth Vader’s son instead of Luke, and that Luke knew, but didn’t tell Leia because he like them better as brother and sister, so he let her date her brother,” Ned said with excitement.

“Oh! Bro! That’s sick,” Peter exclaimed with equal amounts of disgust and contemplative awe.

“I know!”

“Y’all are nerds,” said MJ said from across the aisle.

“Hey!” said Ned and Peter in unison.

“We are connoisseurs of geek culture,” said Ned.

“And Star Wars is a culturally important beacon of light to all,” Peter added.

“And the best LEGO sets are Star Wars themed,” Ned supplied.

“You’re not helping Ned,” said Peter with an exasperated sigh.

“Whatever,” said MJ returning to her book.

They stayed that way, talking, joking, and laughing for the rest of the ride.


	5. Chapter 5

The bus had finally reached the campsite, and the occupants were buzzing with anticipation after being cooped up for so many hours. As they prepared to depart the bus, Steve grabbed his and Natasha's stuff before she stopped him. 

“I’ll carry it,” she said with noticeable irritation.

“What’s the matter with you?” Steve asked with seemingly genuine concern.

“It’s all hitting me now that we’re here. Now there’s actually no going back. I’m tapped in the woods with teenagers. It's all real now.” she laments. 

“You’ll be okay. We’re going to have fun this weekend.” Steve told her.

“No. You’re going to have fun.” Natasha clarified. “ I will sit in a corner an intimidate the children, so that none of them approach me.”

Steve chuckled, an grabbed Nat’s bag before she could protest any further, an act of chivalry reminiscent of an era long gone. He strode off the bus with her trailing behind him an fathered behind the large circle of students that had gathered around the teacher. 

“No girls in boys tents. No wandering off without a partner, and no drugs, alcohol, or any other contraband substances,” the teacher said as Nat and Steve joined the crowd around her. Now, set up your tents and any other materials you need,” she said.

Nat and Steve moved to set up their tent when the teacher came over to them.

“Miss Fury, one of our female students doesn’t have a partner to share a tent with. I was wondering if you would mind sharing with her, please?” asked the teacher in a timid voice. No doubt about it. She was intimidated by Nat, and with good reason to.  
Nat looked ready to snap the teacher’s neck before Steve nudged her and gave her a knowing look. 

“Fine,” Natasha grumbled, clearly unhappy with the arrangement. She walked after the teacher in a disgruntled fashion until they reached the messy haired girl Nat had seen Peter talking to on the bus.

“I told you, Ms. Warren,” she said as she saw them approaching. “I don't need a partner in my tent. I’d prefer to be alone.”

“You need a partner, MJ,” said the teacher, Ms. Warren, sounding exasperated.

“If it makes you feel better, this wasn’t my first choice either,” said Nat.

“I’m MJ,” the girl said not proffering. A hand as most people would have done which was fine by Nat.

“Nikki,” she said with the same cold intensity MJ had displayed. The teacher seemed pleased now that the introductions were finished and walked away towards another group of students. 

“Interesting,” MJ said coldly. “I thought I heard Peter call you Natasha on the bus. And then Captain America over there said the same thing.”

“Fine,” Natasha sighed. “So, my name’s not Nikki, but it's not like anybody knows my real name in the first place. Look, if you really want, you can call me Natasha.”

“Nah man, I was just playing. I don’t really care,” said MJ before disappearing into her tent.

Nat turned to walk back over to Steve when she heard a whistle from behind her.

“Damn girl. Your looking fine,” said a teenage boy from behind her. “Can I get your number?” he asked. 

Natasha turned around, and shot the boy a death glare. 

“I don’t speak English,” she said.

“But that w-,”

“Отвали,” Nat spat in the direction of the boy. 

‘So I see you met Flash,” said Peter falling into step with Nat. “He’s an ass don’t pay attention to him.”

“Hey! Language!” Steve practically yelped as they approached him. 

“Relax, Steve! Remember what you said. We’re here to have run, right?” Nat said while chuckling. 

“Yeah, Nat. You’re right,” he said sheepishly.

“Hey Cap,” said Peter cheerfully. “Thanks for coming,” he said before running back to his and Ned’s tent. 

“OMG!” Somebody shrieked coming up behind Natasha and Steve. They both turned instantly. “Are you Captain America?” 

Natasha and Steve saw a slight blonde girl in front of them, her face becoming red with excitement. 

“I love you so much,” she said in a shrill voice while wrapping her arms around Steve. “It’s so cool how you were frozen, and then they found you, and you weren’t. Oh! And what’s the nature of your relationship with James Buchanan Barnes?” she asked, talking a million miles a minute and quickly becoming flustered.

At this point, a crowd had gathered, and Steve was being bombarded with questions.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” said Nat as she turned her head, cocked her hips in a sassy manner, and began to walk away. 

“No! Nat! You have to help me! No! You can’t leave me here,” said Steve before he was swallowed up by the crowd, and Natasha had already disappeared. By now, her location was anyone’s guess, so Steve resigned himself to answering the growing crowd’s endless questions for a while.

… 

That night there was a campfire. All the kids and adults crowded around the campfire and roasted marshmallows. Everybody was talking and laughing. Even Nat seemed to be enjoying herself. Then somebody suggested telling scary stories. People seemed excited at the thought of it and began going around the circle. Before she registered it, they had been all the way around the circle to Nat.

“It’s your turn Miss Nikki,” said the annoying kid, Flash, from across the campfire.

“I don’t know any scary stories,” said Natasha shortly.

“Yeah, Flash. If Miss Natasha- I mean Nikki- doesn't want to say anything, she shouldn't have to,” said Peter growing slowly anxious.

“What? Are you scared stupid head?” Flash asked of Peter.

“No… it’s just-“

“No, Peter. It’s fine. I’ll tell a story, if that’s what you all really want,” and so Natasha began telling her story and the people gathered around the campfire grew silent. 

“Once there was a little girl. She lived in Russia, and when she was young, she was taken from her parents. She was sent to a place where they trained people, killers. She grew up surrounded by other girls her age who’s he was force to fight on a daily basis. Sometimes she wounded them. Sometimes they wounded her. She never knew love. She just knew fighting, and killing, and bloodshed. Many years later after much more training, she killed a person. She was a mother of two children with a husband, and parents, and people who cared for her, but the girl killed her. Then she graduated this “academy” and as a final, bloody ceremony they got out her reproductive organs, so that she could never become preoccupied with love and children. It was a ritual to forever mark her as belonging to the academy. After that she traveled the world using her skills. She lost count of the many men and women that she killed. She became well known and respected and her field by all the wrong people, and at some point she came to enjoy it, watching the light leave a man’s eyes. But one day she came to regret all that she had done. She returned home longing for the simple days of her childhood. She went to visit her parents, but all she found was their graves. She sat down and wept, and to think, at the beginning of all of this she was a child.” 

Natasha let those final words hang in the air. 

“Oh, Nat,” Steve looked on before throwing an arm around her. 

“I think I’m going to turn in for the night,” said Nat popping up quickly and stalking off not to her tent, but in the direction of the woods, never one to accept anyone’s pity.

“Nat!” Steve called after her, her cover name long forgotten. Steve swiftly got to is feet and chased after her into the night, always one to comfort his friends despite their bitterest objections.


	6. Chapter 6

When Steve found her, she was halfway up a tree. He knew she always resorted to her childhood training in times like these, her instinct being to distance herself from the situation.

 

“Nat,” he called up to her, not wanting to climb the tree and invade her space when she was like this, knowing she was liable to push him out of said tree.

 

“Go away, Steve,” she yelled her voice writing through the air. “I’m fine.”

 

“No, you’re not,” said Steve in a compassionate voice.

 

“I don’t need you here. Just go enjoy the campfire with the kids.”

 

“I’m not leaving,” said Steve, now in his usual, self-righteous voice. He sat down and leaned against the base of the tree. It was quiet for several long minutes before Steve heard the light rustling of branches and looked over to see Natasha sitting beside him.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” he prompted gently.

 

“No,” Natasha whispered into the night.

 

Natasha rested her head on his shoulder, already feeling better knowing that Steve was there to support her. They sat like that, together, in silence before finally she stood up and led him back to the campsite, still remaining silent.

 

They reached their campground, and Natasha took a long look around before turning back to Steve.

 

“Thank you… for tonight,” she said softly, looking downward as though she were ashamed.

 

“Any time,” Steve said as her gaze landed on him again. He held her her eyesight for a minute, and his eyes said it all, that he was her friend and as such would be there for her forever.

 

She started back towards her tent, and unzipped the opening slowly, so as not to wake MJ, should she be asleep. She wasn’t, but rather she had changed into sweatpants and had headphones on, through which Nat could music blaring loudly.

Her hair was in a messy bun and she was drawing in a sketchbook, reminding Nat heavily of Steve.

 

“Hey,” said MJ, ruining Natasha’s hopes of not talking to her and going to sleep quietly.

 

“Hey,” said Nat unenthusiastically.

 

“Cool story, you told earlier.”

 

“You think so?” Nat asked, incredulously.

 

“Yeah. It kinda reminded me of that show, Nikita,” said MJ, returning to her sketchbook.

 

That was the end of the conversation, and Natasha laid down and rolled over, so that she was facing away from the teenage girl, and towards the side of the tent. She heard MJ lay down too, and soon head the telltale gentle breathing indicating sleep, emanating from the young girl. Natasha stayed awake a few hours longer, thinking. She eventually drifted off into a dream filled sleep.

 

…

 

_She was sixteen, and standing in the middle of the Red Room’s training area. She looked down to see a gun in her hand and felt the cool metal against the skin of her palms. There was a woman tied to a chair in front of her. She had a sack over her head. Slowly the head trainer stepped forward and removed the sack._

 

_“No. This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Natasha thought. They were supposed to leave the sack on._

 

_She looked at the woman sitting before her only to see that she had red hair like Nat’s and the same eyes as her too. She slowly realized that it was her, just older. It was her now. She raised her gun and two figures appeared. The first was Steve in his full Captain America uniform._

 

_“No. Nat, you can’t do this. Don’t kill her. You will never be an Avenger if you kill her,” he pleaded._

 

_Nat tried to speak, but found she couldn’t. She became slightly panicked and tried to scream. “Steve! Steve” but nothing came out._

 

_“No!” rang out the harsh trainer’s voice who was shimmering on the other side of the chair. “Kill her. It is your destiny.”_

 

_Nat looked at herself. This was how she became an Avenger. She killed this woman and many more until Clint found her and saved her. She had to kill this woman. She had to kill herself. Unless… She was killing her now self and becoming-_

 

_She never got to finish the thought. She was cut off by a sudden rust of light as a door opened behind her._

 

_“Quick!” Clint shouted, having appeared through the doorway. “Come with me.”_

 

_Thank god! Clint was here to save her as things should have been, but it was Clint when he was younger as he had looked when they had first met. She ran towards him, dropping her gun and burst through the doorway. When she looked up, she was on a balcony in Budapest. Clint was holding her in is arms and staring down at her with love in his eyes, but no. He was with Laura now. She heard Loki’s words echoing in her ear._

 

_“Is this love, Agent Romanoff?”_

 

_In the distance, she saw an explosion. The bomb had detonated as it had in Budapest that fateful night._

 

_The explosion jarred her, and suddenly, she was sitting, strapped to a chair as though she had just awoken. The room was dark with a single bare bulb hanging from the light bulb above her._

 

_A man stepped out of the shadows. It was none other than Nick Fury._

 

_“Tell me what you know, agent.” he said harshly._

 

_But no. This had never happened. Suddenly, a cattle prod appeared in his hand. He advanced slowly on Natasha. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Then suddenly, he struck like a cobra.”_


	7. Chapter 7

Nat woke sharply and looked around. It was still dark outside, and Natasha glanced at her watch. It read 5:03. She got up as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb MJ, and exited the tent. 

She walked outside, before she found a nice patch of earth surrounded by plants at the edge of the campground that would be barely visible to anybody walking by. She leaned her back against a tree and sat down to think. 

“Ugh,” she thought to herself. “She should have known something like that would happen if she talked about her past. 

Nat was so lost in thought, she didn’t notice when somebody came up behind her.

“Hey,” said Steve. 

“Out for your morning run?” asked Natasha pleasantly, careful not to look spooked. She looked up to see Steve standing over her in shorts and a tight, gray Under Armour shirt. 

“Yeah,” said Steve, not sounding as if he had run at all. He didn’t seem out of breath in the slightest. “I like the fresh morning air to clear my thoughts. I never got much of that, growing up in the city,”

“Yeah,” Nat said absentmindedly. She was only half paying attention, still thinking about her dream from last night.

Noticing this, Steve sat down beside her. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.

“No,” Nat replied. “Plus, we should probably go talk to the kid,” she said smoothly as she saw Peter emerge from his tent. They two of them got up to walk over towards him. 

“Hey kid,” Steve called happily. 

“Hey,” said Peter, looking up Suddenly as though he were surprised. “Good morning Mr. Rogers… er… uh Captain Rogers, and Miss Natasha or… Nikki… or-“

“Relax kid,” said Steve, cutting him off. He sounded amused and there was a certain light is his eyes. “Call me Steve.”

“Sure uh… Steve and…,”

“Nikki for now,” said Nat. 

“I just want to thank you for coming. I know you didn’t have to and you probably didn’t want to because I mean, who wants to spend time around teenagers? But thanks for coming,” stammered Peter, speaking quickly. “Hey uh… Ms. Nikki. Did you ever realize we’re the spider people?” 

Steve was laughing, practically crying while Natasha stared at Peter as if he had grown an extra head. 

“Yeah,” said Nat slowly like she was unsure of what to say next “So we’re not gonna call ourselves that ever. Ok kid?”

“Yeah,” Peter lamented. “Sorry. I just didn’t know what to say and sometimes I carry on when I’m nervous and-“

Yeah I can tell,” said Natasha cutting him off. 

“How’s Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, eager to change the subject. 

“He’s doing great. He’s just really busy,” interjected Steve. “You know with him. Pepper, and the baby and all. He’s got Friday changing diapers.”

“And how’s Mr. Bucky?”

“He’s amazing. He’s still kinda freaked out that you called him Jesus though. How are you, kid?”

“I’m doing good,” said Peter. “You might not need Earth’s mightiest heroes everyday, but you do always need a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. I’m back to helping out convenience store owners while I wait for the next big crisis.”

“Good,” said Steve. Natasha nudged him and gave him a pointed look. “Oh! And Tony told me to tell you that you’ll always have a room or four at the Avengers Complex.” 

Tony was still upset that the kid hadn’t taken him up on his offer to live in the Avengers Complex, but he settled with making sure that Peter knew he had a room and a lab and maybe another spare room whenever he needed it. Tony would probably have thrown in a Ferrari, if Peter asked. 

“Have you been thinking about college?” Steve queried. 

“Yeah. I was thinking something close to home and to the Complex like MIT, that is if I go at all. I wasn’t really sure if college was an Avenger thing to do.”

“Do whatever you want, Peter. We know if we need you, you’re just a phone call away,” said Steve encouragingly. 

“What’s going on with you and MJ?” asked Nat bluntly.

“Oh! Um… nothing. We’re just friends like Ned and me, just different.”

“So you like her,’ said Nat sounding uninterested as if she were explaining the alphabet to a child. 

“Oh! You should ask her out! That would be so cute, but be respectful, kid,” said Steve. He was saying the words of a teenage girl talking about her OTP, but in the voice of a manly super soldier. 

“No! What? Are you kidding me? No!” Peter stammered. “We’re just friends, and she would turn me down anyway.” 

Whatever you say, kid,” said Nat sounding smug. 

The sun was fully up now and the clock read 6:15. They moved over to sit around the fire that had long been out, eking sure to talk quietly should anyone hear them. Peter’s identity was a secret, as was Nat’s. 

At around 7:30, more people started emerging from their tents. 

At 8 the teacher called them to order and did a quick headcount to make sure nobody had snuck off. 

“Alright kids,” she called out in a shrill voice. “We are supposed to meet a park ranger here at 11:30. Until then, I was thinking we would maybe do some group activities. Chaperones, do you have anything in mind?”

“Um… I could tell you about World War II,” said Steve sounding abashed. The children quickly became a lot more interested in their shoes than they had been a second ago. 

“Um... Miss Fury did you have anything?” asked the teacher hopefully.

“Well now that you mention it…” said Nat with an evil glint in her eye.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update. Things have been really hectic lately, and to be quite honest, I didn’t really know where I was going with this fic. I just needed to find some inspiration, and I also needed some time to do it. Thank you to my best friend for helping me out along the way and helping to jumpstart me back into the writing process, and thanks to y’all for being patient. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

10 minutes later, Peter’s classmates were gathered in a circle around Natasha. 

“Okay class,” Nat said, with a glint in her eye that told Steve, she was relishing every minute of this, acting like a teacher and bossing people around. “Today, I’ll be teaching you the art of hand to hand combat.”

“Now really, Miss Fury, I can’t allow you to teach our students that. We can’t have them endangering themselves or each other,” said Ms. Warren.

“No! No! Really, they’re in good hands. Your students couldn’t possibly be safer.”

“It’s just school limitations and all…” the teacher stuttered, seeming to have lost her confidence. 

“We could try knife throwing, if you think the school would be more amenable to that,” said Nat brightly as she pulled out a knife that she had concealed who knows where. 

“Oh! Um… no. Really, no!”

“Okay, twerps! Pair off!” Nat yelled in a loud voice, now confident that there would be no further protests. “I’ll begin by demonstrating how to get your opponent on the ground. Steve, get over here.You’re my test dummy.” 

Several of the kids looked affronted at this. Nat read their minds and knew what they were thinking.

“Captain America was going to murder this tiny woman.” Nat had faced this her whole life. People always underestimated her, and sometimes it was her greatest asset, but instead she decided to throw these kids for a loop. She looked at the kids slyly and responded,

“Don’t worry kids! I’ll return Captain America in one piece, that is… if Grandpa Frisbee here can take it.” She watched as all the kids stared at her in disbelief before she quickly kicked Steve’s legs out from under him, and pinned him to the ground. He chuckled lightly as he looked at the faces around them. Nat looked up to see the kids staring at her in awe. She seemed to have finally gained the respect and attention of Peter’s classmates. “Now please try that with your partner. Just stick your leg out and sweep their legs out from underneath them. Be careful! If you’re the one falling, remember not to stick your arms out to break your fall. You’ll only end up in more pain. Not that this will be painful. Or that any body will end up hurt,” Nat added quickly for the benefit of Ms. Warren, who looked scandalized. Then, she helped Steve to his feet,and helped his dust the dirt of his shoulders. “You okay, Capsicle?” 

“Never better, CinciNATti.” 

“Terrible pun, Dorito Dude”

“Whatever you say, Natalia,” 

“Watch yourself, Steven,” 

“You’re right! I forgot that you prefer Nikki now,” 

“Oh! It’s on, Captain Underwear,” she mocked him, and then had him on the ground in seconds with her elbow on his collarbone. 

“Okay, truce. Besides, I think we’ve drawn a little too much attention to ourselves,’ Steve chuckled. Nat looked up to find all of the kids staring at her in Steve in equal parts shock, reverence and horror. 

“What are y’all looking at,” Nat said as she lazily stood up. “Get to work!”

The kids quickly began to practice the maneuver Nat had taught them earlier with varying degrees of success. To everybody's surprise but Natasha’s, 45 minutes later, nobody had been hurt. 

“Okay kids, I believe we should move on to another activity now. Maybe one with a smaller capacity for danger,” commanded the teacher. 

“May I cut in, Ms. Warren?” Steve asked, as polite as ever. “Could I suggest an idea?”

“Absolutely!” said Mrs. Warren, blushing furiously.

“Maybe we could go for a nice, leisurely hike.” 

“Oh, well that just sounds fabulous!” 

…

20 minutes later, Steve had found the group a trail to hike, and they were ready to go.

The hike began just as Steve had said: nice and leisurely, but it snowballed from there. Steve quickly began to grow more and more excited and began to move quicker and quicker. He was a like an overly energetic golden retriever puppy. Unfortunately, nobody else was a genetically engineered super soldier, or even a highly trained assassin, or even a spidering for that matter. Everybody else soon fell off the wagon and began to lag behind. Even Ms. Warren was looking like she wanted to be somewhere else right now.

“Steve,” Nat whispered, leaning closer to him. “Maybe we should slow down and turn back. The kid seem to be getting tired.”

“No, I’m sure they’re fine,” Steve protested.

“Steve, turn around.” He did and saw the truth. Half of the kids looked ready to fall over, an the rest of them weren’t even in his eyesight anymore. 

“Okay, group,” he called out. I think it’s time we turned around.” All the kids let out a sigh of relief, and began to trudge back towards the camp. 

…

When they reached camp, 40 minutes later, Ms. Warren told the group to return to their tents and prepare to the site with the ranger, who would be arriving in 15 minutes. 

They reconvened near the now dormant campfire 10 minutes later. A small shuttle bus pulled up and a man in a khaki uniform hopped out.

“Hi. I’m Ranger Dan, and I will be taking you further into the Catskills to study rock sediment. Luckily, there is an excavation sight not 20 minutes from here that offers some truly stunning examples of rock sediment. So, c’mon class. It’s time to get on the bus.” 

Peter walked with Ned towards the bus. MJ fell into step beside them.

“So, this is gonna be lame,” she sniggered in their ears. 

“Coming on this field trip was a choice, MJ,” Peter reminded her.

“And besides, what other plans did you have for this weekend?” Ned asked her snidely.

“I don’t know. Maybe sketch in the park.” 

“”This is a park, is it not?” Ned said as he poked her lightly on the shoulder. “Why can’t you just do your super important sketching here?” 

“Doofus!” MJ snorted as she punched him on the arm.

Peter tagged along behind them as they continued to argue playfully and jostle each other all the way to the bus.


	9. Chapter 9

20 minutes later, the shuttle bus pulled off the main road and argued down a dirt road.

“They weren’t kidding when they said deeper into the Catskills, were they?” Ned said as they continue further down the narrow road. Outside the window they could see trees that seemed to be getting thicker and thicker as they went along. Finally they saw a light at the end of the road and saw that the tree line had ended, and a wide plateau spread out before them. 

“Okay group, it’s time to get off the bus. Remember to do so quietly. When,you exit the bus, please gather in a circle around Ranger Dan,” yelled Ms. Warren as the kids got ready to get off the bus. 

“Ooh rock collecting, this is gonna be the time of my life,” muttered MJ to Peter and Ned as they walked up the aisle to the Ron top the bus. 

“I said, quiet,” Ms. Warren hissed at the group when they passed her. 

The group hurried of the bus eager to escape Ms. Warren and gathered in a circle around Ranger Dan. 

“Okay kids, today we have a special treat for you,” Ranger Dan called out, as the last of the students exited the shuttle bus. “I have taken you to one to our more remote sites. You will find some of the most untouched dig sites around. This has not been picked over by tourists but only vetted researchers, and today it is your privilege to study here as well. Now, I do warn you that with the pristine conditions for excavation, there are also some dangers. This is a remote site, so you must be on the watch for bears.” 

The kids began shuffling around nervously at this. These were all inner city kids, who had never even seen a bird other than a pigeon before except for in the Central Park Zoo. Now, they were supposed to be watching out for bear. It was no wonder some of them were looking a little queasy. They soon forgot their worries though, as Ranger Dan continued with his spiel.

“Today, I am going to show you some of the rock types you may find, and what that means in the mind of a geologist,” Ranger Dan continued. “ First off, if you didn’t know these are the Catskill Mountains. These are made up of sedimentary rock type, and the rocks are all of either the Devonian or Mississippian age categories. If you’ll look to your left, you’ll see a small crater. If you take a closer look, you can see a few layers to the sediment. Lately, there have been some fascinating discoveries made with the bedrock. “Unfortunately, I can’t take y’all to one of those excavation sites, but I do happen to have a chunk here, if y’all want to pass it around the circle.” Ranger Dan said as he pulled a hunk of rock out of his pocket.

He proffered the piece of bedrock to the nearest student. As the student took the rock Ranger Dan took this time to look around the circle. He saw the faces of a dozen disinterested teenagers looking back. He quickly cleared his throat and began to speak again, ready to move the move the group along to their next activity, and hoping that it would spark some life into them.

“Alright so now, if y’all would pleasure form groups of three and gather ‘round the back of the bus, I’ll hand out shovels. You’re each going to take turns digging a small hole and studying the layers and types of rock that are in the ground here.”

As the kids began to follow his instructions, Ranger Dan’s instructions, he noticed the three adults hanging back. 

“Would y’all like to join in?” Ranger Dan asked kindly.

“No,” said Nat sharply.

“Please excuse her,” said Steve quickly. “I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t, Nikki,” he said softly, this time to Nat.

“We wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,” said Ms. Warren to Ranger Dan.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all,” he chuckled. “Let me just grab y’all a shovel.” 

The groups began to dig. 

Peter, MJ, and Ned’s group took turns digging a progressively deeper and deeper hole. They were laughing and joking as they went, and they seemed to be having a good time. 

On the other hand, Nat, Steve, and Ms. Warren, on the other hand, seemed to be having a hard time of it. Stee was constantly trying to lihtethe mood with jokes and smiles. Steve, always the perfect gentleman, offered to do most of the heavy lifting. Nat seemed to be having the worst time of it. You couldn’t have paid her to do thi in a million years, and this was only made worse by the fact that it felt like a hundred degrees outside. Nat looked ready to slit STeve’s throat the next time he flashed anybody one of his blindingly white smiles that made Captain America famous far before he was a war hero. Ms. Warren just didn’t want to get in the middle of this.

…

Two hours later, the class boarded the bus, hot, tired, and feeling as if they had seen enough rocks to last a lifetime. As Peter prepared to board the us, he saw Steve beckoning him over. 

“Her, Mr… uh Captain Rogers, sir,” Peter said as he joined Steve and nAT at the root of the bus. 

“Hey, Peter,” Steve replied. “How many times do I have to tell you, kid” he chuckled. “ Just call me Steve, or Cap if you’re more comfortable with that.” 

“Okay… Cap,” Peter stuttered, unsure of himself. “Why did you call me over?”

“Tony just texted me. He wanted us to call him.” 

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” 

Steve pulled out his phone and began to scroll through his contact list looking for Tony’s name. He clicked on the telephone icon, and the phone began to ring. 

“Hey, Captain Handsome. What’s up my main squeeze? Is the kid there?” Tony said as as he picked up the phone. 

“Yes, Tony, Peter’s here,” Steve replied.

“Nat too?”

“Yeah, but she’s going by NIkki now,”

“Nikki?”

“Nikki Fury, to be more exact,” 

“Oh, wait until I tell him about his,” Tony snorted into the phone. 

“Anyways…” Nat interrupted. “Is there a more pressing reason for this call, than making fun of Fury?” 

“I was just checking in to make sure everybody was still alive,” Tony said. 

“We’re all fine,” Steve said, sounding resigned. 

“Can you blame me for asking? Something bad always happens with you. You’re the one who ran off with a brainwashed super soldier. Anyways, what’s up with kid?” 

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark,” Peter spoke up.

“And how are things going with MJ,” Tony prodded.

“How do you even know about her?” Peter asked sounding affronted. 

“I’ve been keeping tabs,” Tony said nonchalantly.

“Did Happy tell you,” Peter accused.

“I gotta protect my sources, kid.” 

“Have you been tailing her or something?” 

Steve and Nat listened to this exchange, amused. They had always wondered what Tony would be like as a parent. It turns out he would be that weirdo stalker dad. HE would probably threaten MJ before her and Peter’s first date, telling her to have him home by 9, while wearing the Iron Man suit. 

Soon, the conversation began to wrap up. 

“Bye Mr. Stark,” said Peter.

“See ya kid. We’ll talk soon,” Tony replied.

“Bye Tony,” said Nat before turning to inspect her nails. 

“Bye, Red” 

“See you soon, Tony,” Steve said into the phone. 

“Bye, Capsicle.” 

With that the phone clicked off, and Peter stood up.

“See ya later, Miss Nat, and um… Steve,” he said as he began making his way to the back of the bus, where MJ and Ned were sitting. 

“What was that all about?” Ned asked as Peter sat down beside him. 

“I just had to talk to them about the Stark internship,” Peter replied. “It’s not technically a lie,” Peter justified to himself fin his mind. He had gotten used to telling small fibs, as he preferred to call them, over the past year. MJ eyed him suspiciously but said nothing. They resumed the ride as they normally would, talking and telling jokes. Eventually, they lapsed into silence. Ned began to play a game on his phone, and MJ pulled out her sketchbook and began to draw. Peter just looked out the window, thinking.


	10. Chapter 10

When they reached the campground, the kids exited the bus and thanked Ranger Dan for his time. For the rest of the afternoon, they were given free time. 

Nat and Steve decided to go spar in the forest for a while, and Peter decided to go take a nap. He was on his way to is tent when his phone rang. He saw that it was Aunt May, and answered the phone.

“Peter? Are you there?” May asked, as Peter answered the phone. 

“Yeah, May. I’m here,” Peter replied.

“How’s your trip?” 

“It’s going well. We just got back from the rock study dig site,” Peter said. 

“Oh, I bet that was fun,” May said sarcastically. “And you’ll look back on that as one of your fondest memories when your older. I bet you’ll even tell your grandkids stories about that when they come to visit you.” 

“Stop it,” Peter chuckled.”It was fun, and besides that’s not the only thing we’ve done.” 

“Oh yeah? What else has been so very magical. Did they let you sort through lizard poop too?” she teased. 

“No,” Peter laughed. “Today, Natasha taught us hand to hand combat, and-,”

“I’m sorry,” May interrupted.”Go back a bit.”

“Natasha taught us hand to hand combat.”

“And your school allowed this?”

“It was more like an unprompted activity that Ms. Warren had no choice it to accept. Don’t worry though, nobody got hurt,” Peter explained. 

“Well, what are you doing now?” May asked.

“I’m about to go take a nap. We have some free time before we all eat together tonight.” 

“I’ll leave you to it,” 

“Love you, May.”

“I love you too, Peter,” May said, before ending the call.

Peter continued walking to his tent, crawled inside, and fell asleep as soon as he laid down.

…

Farther in the woods, Steve and Nat were walking out to a clearing to spar.

“Okay Nat, admit you’re having fun on this field trip,” Steve teased as he lightly prodded her shoulder with his. 

“No,” Nat stated simply. 

“Why?” Steve asked. “What do you have against kids?” 

“They’re annoying.” 

“No, it’s something more than that.” 

Nat glared at him signaling that he was closing in on dangerous territory.

“Fine, I won’t ask anymore.” 

“You’re giving up easier than usual, Stevie,” Nat teased.

“You didn’t seem like you were going to talk, and I know you. If you don’t want to talk, no one can make you,” Steve reasoned.

“No, it’s just that there are some things I’d prefer not to be reminded of,” Nat confessed. 

“Such as…”

“I thought you weren’t gonna ask me any more,” Nat said with a small chuckle.

“I guess I’m not always the best at keeping my word. Never have been.”

“Oh right! This coming from the Mr. Red, White, and Honorable.” Nat guffawed.

“I promised Bucky I wasn’t going to do stupid crap once he left. Look how well that went.”

“I never thought I would live to see the day that you admitted storming Hydra’s hideout in prop armour was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done,” Nat said in disbelief.

“I wasn’t even referring to that,” Steve said, looking taken aback. “ I was talking about taking the serum. 

“You regret being Captain America?”

“I regret all the people whose lives have been endangered because I’m Captain America.” 

“Yeah, but you’ve saved so many too.”

“I know, and I try to keep that in mind, it sometimes I think the world would have been better of had I never taken on the mantle of Captain America.” 

“Let’s be honest here, Steve. At least we’re not Sam,“ Natasha joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. 

“Hey,” Steve said, quickly jumping to Sam’s defense. “Sam’s actually a pretty cool guy.”

“Not as cool as us though, Capsicle,” said Nat. 

Steve laughed and the two subsided into silence for the remainder of their walk, and as they soon as got the clearing they began to fight each other, still without a word.

…

Later that night, the class gathered together or a cookout. Ms. Warren had gone into town earlier today and bought dogs, hamburgers, and a few black ean users as well. Now, Steve was grilling them up on the campsite’s small charcoal grill. Everybody else was gathered around the now roasting campfire, or crammed around nearby picnic tables. They all had fun sharing a meal together, talking and laughing.

They stayed there for another hour, before small groups started getting up and leaving. Soon there were less than ten people left sitting around the campfire, including Nat, Steve, Peter, MJ, and Ned. Realizing this, they all stood up to leave, while Nat began to approach MJ.

“I have some things to discuss with Captain America tonight. I’ll be staying in my original tent tonight,” Nat explained. 

“Cool,” MJ said, before turning away and walking towards her friends, and that was that. 

“So, what are y’all doing for the rest of the night?” MJ asked as she reached Ned and Peter.

“I’ve got to get some shut eye. You don’t get this gorgeous by staying up late,” Ned said, before returning to his and Peter’s tent. 

“What about you?” MJ asked Peter.

“I don’t know. I thought I would stay up and watch a Star Wars movie or two,” Peter said. 

“I’ve actually never seen any of those movies,” MJ confessed.

“What!” Peter practically yelled in disbelief. 

“I guess I just never got around to it.”

“Well, now I know what I’m doing tonight,” said Peter. “And you too. We are having a Star Wars marathon. We can at least get through the first three movies tonight, maybe more.”

Peter sat down on one of the logs surrounding the fire and pulled out his phone.

“What are you doing?” MJ asked, as she looked at Peter sitting on the log.

“I’m getting ready to watch the movie. What are you doing?” Peter asked. 

“If I’m going to watch these damn 3 hour movies with you, I’m going to do it comfortably.,” MJ said. “Come on. We’re doing this in my tent.”

“I don’t know, MJ. I mean, isn’t that against the rules?” stammered Peter, but she had already disappeared into her tent. Peter had no choice but to follow her. 

…  
A couple of hours later, Peter and MJ had finished watching the first movie, (in chronological order of release of course), Episode IV: A New Hope.

“So what did you think?” Peter asked MJ unsuredly. 

“I hate to admit it Parker,” MJ began.”But I actually kind of… loved it.”

“Yes!” Peter whisper-yelled excitedly, conscious of the fact that people in the neighboring tents were already asleep. “I knew you would like it!” 

“Don’t get too excited, Parker,” MJ warned. “This may have been the first time you were right about something, but it will also be the last.” 

“Never mind tha,” Peter said hurriedly. “Do you want to watch the next movie?”

“Ughhhh,” MJ groaned. “Of course I do. Why haven’t you already queued it up, Parker?” 

Peter did as he was told and quickly pulled up the next movie on his phone. Before they had even half finished the movie, both Peter and MJ were asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go guys... It’s the last chapter. I guess it’s true what they say all good things (and even bad writing) must come to an end.

The next morning Peter awoke to a soft rustling in his ear and a louder gasp. Then he heard:

“Peter Parker, what do you think you’re doing, young man?” 

“Mr. Rogers? Is that you?” Peter mumbled, still sleepy.

“Yes. And I would like to know exactly what you are doing sleeping in a girl’s tent with a girl beside you,” Steve said with a mixture of anger and disappointment in his voice. 

At this Peter bolted upright. Beside him, MJ began to stir. 

“Mr. Steve… uh… I can explain,” Peter stammered. “We were watching a movie, and uh… I guess we fell asleep in the middle of it, but nothing happened I swear, Captain Amer-Rogers.”

“You should not take advantage of innocent girls like this, Peter. Where is your honor? Your decency? Have I taught you nothing? How could you do this? I thought- No! I know you were raised better than this.”

Now, MJ was awake and staring at the man in front of her. She had to admit, it sure was something to see a stark raving mad genetically enhanced super soldier this early in the morning.

“Excuse me, Captain Rogers,” MJ said as she cut in. “But Peter did nothing wrong, sir. He just wanted to introduce me to his favorite film series, and I to e honest I quite enjoyed it. He was nothing less than a perfect gentleman all night. Now, I’m still feeling extremely tired after our movie marathon, and. Would appreciate it if you would let me sleep a little longer,” MJ finished, before laying back down and urging herself beneath a mound of blankets. 

Steve was rendered speechless at this and only let out a reach of air that he seemed to have been holding in. 

“You are just so lucky that it wasn’t Nat that caught you,” he finally said, before turning away and leaving the tent.

“Um… So, I guess I should go now,” Peter said as he scrambled to stand up.

All he heard out of MJ was a soft grunt from underneath the heaps of blankets that she seemed to call home for now. Peter decided to take that as a yes and left her tent before walking back to his own, where Ned was still sleeping. 

…

A few hours later, after a short breakfast, the students were told by Ms. Warren that they would be given free time until the bus left later in the afternoon.

“What do you losers wanna do?” MJ asked, as they sat on the logs surrounding the fire. 

“Why do you hang out with us, if you think we’re losers?” Ned asked her.

“I’ve got no one else to hang out with,” MJ reasoned as she and Ned began to argue.

“Well, that doesn’t mean you have to both-“

“Guys! Guys! Let’s not fight,” Peter interrupted.

“What else are we supposed to do?” MJ asked Peter. “We are stuck in the middle of a forest. It’s not like we can go to Starbucks or something.” 

“So? We can hang out here. MJ, you like drawing. Let’s play Pictionary,” 

“We’re not five, Peter,” Mj snapped at him. 

“And besides, it's not like either of us knows how to draw, Peter,” Ned added.

“What about if we played cards or something. I think I have a deck in my bag,” Peter suggested. 

“Okay, enough with the kiddie suggestions. What about truth or dare?” MJ cut in.

“Ooh yeah!” Ned said with enthusiasm.

“Guys, I don’t know abou-“ 

“Shut up, Parker,” MJ cut in. “Truth or dare?”

“Er… Truth?” Peter said.

“What’s really going on at this Stark internship?” MJ asked.

“I told you! I help with research. It’s mostly entering and filling data.” MJ fixed Peter with a hard glare, as he said this, but let the matter go.

“Your turn, Ned,” she said as she moved on.

“Dare,” Ned over-enthusiastically replied. 

“I dare you to eat a piece of dirt,” Peter cut in, before MJ could say anything. He could already see the mad glint in her eye, and didn’t want to see his best friend endure whatever awful tortures MJ was no doubt concocting. 

Ned laughed, and without hesitation, he picked up a piece of dirt and popped it into his mouth. Then, he swallowed over dramatically just to seal the deal. 

“Oh, man! That was nasty!” Peter yelled.

“Okay, MJ it’s your turn,” said Ned, smiling like the cat who ate the canary. 

“Dare,” she said without even being asked. 

“Do your worst, Leeds,” MJ challenged him. 

“Fine. I didn’t want to have to do this, but I’m not one to turn down a challenge. I dare you to kiss Peter,” Ned practically yelled.

“What? No! MJ, you don’t have too,” Peter stammered quickly. 

“Shut up, Parker. Only wusses turn down a dare,” MJ said flatly. “Let’s just get this over with. She quickly pressed her lips to his, and held them there for a second, before pulling back. Peter turned red and stammered unintelligibly, then became quiet.

“You okay, Peter?” Ned asked, looking concerned.”You look a little queasy.”

“No, I’m fine. I just need to go do… something,” Peter said quickly, before walking off in the opposite direction.  
…

Steve was leaning against a tree sketching, when he noticed Peter walking towards him. 

“Hey, kid!” Steve said brightly.

“Hi, Captain Rogers, I uh...need to talk to you about something. It’s important,” Peter said.

“Sure, kid. Come sit down next to me.”

Peter sat down and let out a deep sigh.

“What’s on you mind, Peter?” Steve asked, now, looking concerned.

“Well uh… you know the girl that you found me with this morning?” Peter began.

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, her name’s MJ, and she’d really pretty and smart, and just so, so amazing, and I didn’t ever think I had chance with her, ut then she kissed me. I know it was just for truth or dare, but wow. And I mean I-“

“Woah kid slow down.”

Peter nodded and let out a breath. All this talking had left him winded. 

“Let me see if I’m getting this right,“ Steve said effectively cutting Peter off before he could begin rambling again. “You like this girl, MJ, and you just kissed her in a game of truth or dare. Now, you don’t know what to do, so, you’ve come to ask me for advice. 

“Yes.”

“Well, I’d, I gotta tell you, I might not be the best source of information for this kind of a stuff. The last time I had a girl, I promised her a dance. Instead of dancing with her, I crashed a plane and to froze in ice. But I can try to help you as best I can.”

“Thank you, Captain Rogers.”

“Call me Steve,”he said with a chuckle. “And if it helps, I think you should tell this til how you feel and start a real, honest relationship with her. Maybe you could ask her to the movies.”

“Thanks, Captain Rogers, but that sounds a little old fashioned for me,” Peter said.

“Trust me kid. It’s a classic, and besides any girl would be lucky to have you. You’re a good kid, Peter.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Peter said before getting up,and walking away. 

He kept walking until he reached a clearing, and he sat down for a while. He had superpowers. He had fought terrible, evil people, and yet the thought of asking the girl he liked scared him more than any of that.

…

Two hours later, everybody had packed up their things and was preparing to load them onto the bus. 

Peter saw Steve and Nat waiting in line to get onto the bus. He walked up to them and pulled them both aside.

“I just wanted to let you know that I had a really great time this weekend, and it wouldn’t have been possible without y’all. So, thank you. I know y’all didn’t have to come along, and you probably had much better things to do, but you came anyway, and I love you for that. Thanks,” Peter finished, before wrapping an arm around both Steve and Nat and pulling them into a hug. 

“Aw, kid. You know we would do anything for you. We love to you too,” Steve replied.

Natasha nodded along to this, before Steve pulled them all back into another hug. They broke about and Peter flashed them a smile, before turning around and walking towards the bus. He saw Ned and MJ at the back of the bus and began to move towards them. They were already arguing about something or other, and when Peter slid into his seat and the bus began to move, he look out the window at the trees as they passed thinking that this was a field trip he would never forget.


End file.
